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Taking it to the next level: Mulvin adding weight to play at Western State

By Brad CochiBoCoPreps.com

Posted:
07/21/2012 11:09:15 PM MDT

Updated:
07/22/2012 03:53:25 PM MDT

Former Frederick football standout Cody Mulvin is going to be an offensive lineman at Western State. Photo taken Saturday July 21, 2012 at the Carbon Valley Rec Center.
(LEWIS GEYER)

FREDERICK -- Like everyone, Cody Mulvin likes food. But since he signed to play offensive lineman at Western State, eating and working out have taken on new meaning for the Frederick High graduate.

The leader on the Warriors offensive line that guided the team to the state semifinals, Mulvin will continue his football career with the Mountaineers. But they made some requests during his recruitment.

"When I went up there they told me I was athletic and the only thing they would change about me is to put pounds on me," Mulvin said.

Once Mulvin signed, the real work began. His daily routine now consists of working out and eating constantly to try and reach the goal of putting on 60 pounds to get up to 260 by the end of his red-shirt freshman year.

When he wakes up, the 6-foot-5 Mulvin, who weighed 200 pounds at the end of basketball season in the spring, eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a protein shake before he goes to work out at the new Frederick High School. After repping out 375-pound squats and 225 bench presses, he has another protein shake, this time with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

While working his daily eight-hour shift at King Soopers, Mulvin makes sure to eat a snack during his break because he's hungry again by then. This miniature meal usually includes fruit and meat.

Mulvin eats a big meal during his lunch around 4:30 p.m. He eats at least one more snack during his second break before going home to chow down at dinner with his family.

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He does all this to ensure he will be able to hit the ground running and compete at the next level where everyone is bigger.

"Every meal that you have is a chance to get you bigger, get you stronger," said Mulvin, who is already up to 230 pounds. "Gotta push around the big guys, I guess. There's gonna be some bigger and stronger guys than me so I'm gonna have to pick myself up every time I fall down."

As a freshman at Frederick, Mulvin was constantly getting knocked down. He eventually became fed up with the experience and began to question whether he wanted to play football at all.

His freshman coach didn't let Mulvin hang it up.

"Coach Grishom, he goes to me, 'Mulvin, you've got the capability of going to the next level. You've just gotta push yourself beyond what you can do. You've got to be able to pick yourself up every time you get knocked down,'" he said.His junior season, Mulvin started on defense and loved it. He was excited to play both sides of the ball his senior year.

On top of battling a career-threatening shoulder injury he sustained as a junior, Mulvin received some bittersweet advice from his offensive line coach before his final Warriors season.

"Coach Kelly, he goes, 'Mulvin, you're not gonna go to college playing defense. You're gonna go to college playing offensive line,'" Mulvin said. "That just crushed my heart. I was like, 'I love defense, why are you doing this to me?' But he was right.

"It turned into fun. I starting loving it. I started throwing people on the ground and I was like, 'Man, I can do this.'"

Mulvin's stubbornness at the transition quickly subsided. His longing for sacks faded as he developed a new passion for "meatballing" opposing defenders, knocking them over to where their toes come up over their heads.

Now, it's hard to catch Mulvin without his Western State rookie summer workout manual. He tests the limits of his own dedication nearly each day, but also keeps his fishing poles in the back of his car so he can go after work or on weekends.

Mulvin said the Mountaineers coaches was him to play right tackle in Gunnison, where he'll head to on Aug. 8.

He has always been a big guy and was never one to miss a meal. But food has become a much bigger part of Mulvin's life since signing with the Mountaineers. Lucky for him, he's a pretty big fan of the food at Western State.

"They have awesome chocolate milk," Mulvin said. "Their soft-serve is off the chain."

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